Nezvs and Xotes. 1 17 



Ranger on the Pike National Forest, Colorado, in the "Pike 

 News" of November i, 191 1 : 



" '•' '^' * The porcupine lives outdoors the entire year. 

 During the winter months, he climbs into all conifers, usually- 

 Yellow Pine or Douglas Fir, and lives on the bark of the tree. 



"Porcupines are usually found in bunches of from three to four 

 in a tree. In the fall, the best way to locate them is not by looking 

 up into the crown of trees but rather by looking on the ground 

 for tracks, dung, or gnawed bark. At the best, these animals are 

 hard to locate, as they usually pick out a tree with dense foliage, 

 and sit in either the crotch of a limb or in a squirrels' nest. 



"In the months of March and April, the porcupines usually 

 come down from their high perch, and may then be found on 

 trees from 20 to 30 feet in height, remaining in one tree until it 

 is practically ruined and then moving to another one. Although 

 these animals do most of their travelling in the night, they may, 

 however, be easily tracked, especially if one has a good dog. 



"During the summer and early fall, porcupines are usually 

 found cruising around on the ground and feeding on young seed- 

 lings, the bark of which they can reach without climbing. 



"On this district, there are, in many places, patches of yellow 

 pine timber in which over fifty per cent, of the trees have been 

 ruined by these animals. The principal cause of this destruction 

 is the girdling of the main stem a short distance from the top, and 

 the stripping of the bark downward for several feet, thus causing 

 the death of the leader. Minor injuries also often result from the 

 gnawing of the bark of limbs and of the main trunk near the foot 

 of the tree. 



"Stock grazing on the range and in the timber during the 

 summer is occasionally injured by porcupines. Inquisitive cattle 

 and horses will often smell around and nose a porcupine, with the 

 result that they receive a nose full of quills. If the quills are not 

 in very deep, the chances are that they will work out eventually. 

 If. however, the quills are firmly embedded, it may be necessary 

 to rope the animal and remove them with pinchers, in order to 

 save its life. 



"Although a large number of porcupines are killed each year 

 by ranchers, lumbermen, and Forest officers, they do not seem to 

 decrease very rapidly. Practically the only way to exterminate 

 these animals would be, for the Government or State to place a 

 bounty on them, and even then it would probably be a long time 

 before the injury done to the forest would be materially de- 

 creased." 



According to the Census report for 1910 the industries con- 

 nected with lumber manufacture and timber products, including 



